Observing mutual events of the trans-Neptunian object Haumea and Namaka from Brazil

Abstract

By pure coincidence, for the next few years the orbit of the satellite Namaka around the dwarf planet Haumea (formerly 2003 EL61) is nearly edge-on to our line-of-sight. This type of configuration does not last for long, because as Haumea travels around the sun in its 283 year orbit, we continuously see the Haumean system from different angles. It is only edge-on at the angle we see right now, and at the angle it will again be in 141 years – half of a Haumean year from now. In addition to being an interesting coincidence, the fact that the orbit of Namaka is nearly edge-on provides the opportunity to obtain an enormous amount of information about the Haumean system. We present measurements of the timing of these events observed from Laboratrio Nacional de Astrofsica (LNA), partner in an international campaign to observe these events from the most suitable mid-sized telescopes.